Walk of Shame
by MysticalGoddessOfWords
Summary: Just how are Walter and Paige supposed to keep the Cyclone from finding out about the turn their relationship has taken? Sequel to Speed Dating.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Scorpion. I'm just playing with the characters for a while.

So this story came from an idea suggested by a reviewer of my _Speed Dating_ story. She said it would be funny to see the morning after with Walter and Paige walking into the garage hardly able to move. So the credit for the basic premise of this story goes to WriterFreak001. Thanks, hun, for the idea because I had a blast writing it.

And I know I was supposed to be finishing the next chapter of _Gauguin_ but I couldn't get this idea out of my head so I had to just write it.

Although this part is relatively tame, I'm putting a mature rating on this story and keeping it in progress because I may eventually add another chapter or two which will very likely fall within that rating. I'm changing _Speed Dating_ to complete, however, because I'll put Ferret Bueller's POV in the _Ferret Bueller's Chronicles_ and any other stories I may set in my _Speed Dating_ universe will be stand alone and posted independently.

Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing and enjoy!

* * *

 ** _Walk of Shame_**

Walter stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. The movement caused him to grit his teeth as he, once again, felt the sharp sting of the muscles in his lower back and butt protest.

It wasn't until this morning when he'd slipped out from beneath Paige, who spent the night sleeping sprawled across his chest, that he realized that during the course of their activities he had pulled his gluteus maximus. Apparently he had gotten a little enthusiastic in the heat of the moment and it wasn't until the euphoria of the aftermath wore off that his body protested the vigor with which he participated in their nocturnal activities.

Paige had laughed at him then and he found it a bit disturbing that she found humor in his pain. But he felt a little vindicated when she experienced a little discomfort of her own when her thigh muscles also protested as she rose from her bed to walk him to the door. Apparently they were both out of practice, which was not a bad thing as far as Walter was concerned. He'd never really been in practice, if he were honest, having engaged in sexual intercourse only very rarely in the past. But he would be lying if he said he wasn't pleased to hear that it had been almost five years since Paige had been with a man.

After they caught their breath and climbed beneath the sheets of her bed, they talked briefly, whispering in the dark as she shared with him little bits of her past; as he did with her. It was kind of an odd time to share such information but at the same time it just seemed right.

In the past he would have bolted from a woman's bed after sex was over, ready to move on to his next task at hand. But when Paige asked if he was staying night, the word yes slipped out his mouth easily, and without thought, and the smile that lit her lips at his response was all it took for him know it was the right answer.

Long after she'd fallen asleep in his arms, he stared at her ceiling going over every second of the night. From the way she felt to the way she tasted. From the way she moved beneath him and over him to the confession she made, once the lights were out, that she only had one serious relationship after Drew because her relationship with Ralph was so precarious she never dared bring anyone else into their world.

Walter knew it was illogical and chauvinistic to resent any of the men she was with, previously, but he couldn't help how he felt. He despised the fact that she'd been with Drew, the baseball player having been not only her longest emotional but also her longest sexual relationship. Just the thought of Drew putting his hands on her made Walter's palms sweat. But as much as he hated it he couldn't wish it never happened because if it hadn't then Ralph wouldn't exist. And Ralph not existing was as unfathomable to him as the boy's mother not existing.

Walter limped out of the bathroom and over to his closet. He had returned home just after the sun rose, in case any of the team came in early. He and Paige decided that they were going to keep the change in their relationship between just the two of them for the moment. Walter didn't want to invite the scrutiny that their friends would most certainly put them under as they navigated the newness of everything. And Paige wanted Ralph to know before anyone else.

It took Walter several minutes to get his boxer briefs and pants on and by the time he was done he was sweating and panting. Who knew straining your ass muscles could be so painful? But it had been worth every slight pinch and tweak he had to endure. Walter thrived on and preferred intellectual pursuits over physical ones, at least until last night. He now saw the merits of leaving the intellectual behind and just enjoying the physical.

As Walter buttoned his shirt he walked over to Ferret Bueller's cage and opened the door. The ferret bolted out before Walter could grab him and he scampered up Walter's forearm and over his shoulder, chattering in his usual way, before he jumped onto the counter. He scurried across it before he jumped down and he scampered along the floor and out the door.

"Damn it, Ferret Bueller. Get back here."

As good as his overall mood was Walter didn't have the energy to go chasing after the ferret today.

The sound of the door downstairs, and Toby's voice calling out inquiring if anyone was there yet, had Walter groaning. He had even less energy, this morning, to deal with the shrink. He had no doubt Toby was here early because he intended to harass Walter about his verbal outburst last night. Just as he calculated how swiftly he could sneak out the back and go get some breakfast at Kovelsky's, Walter heard Toby's feet clomping up the stairs.

"Yo, Walt, you up there?"

Walter, walking as quickly and steadily as he could, ducked out the back of his loft and started down the ramp at the back of the garage. He needed to get downstairs before Toby saw how stiffly and awkwardly he was walking. It was sure to give him away in a heartbeat.

Walter managed to make it to the kitchen and was putting on a pot of coffee when Toby came back down the stairs.

"There you are. Didn't you hear me call you?" Toby asked as he tossed his hat on the kitchen table.

"Yes," Walter answered as he turned and leaned against the counter gingerly.

"And you didn't think to answer? Oh, hey, Ferret Bueller," Toby said, momentarily distracted as the ferret climbed up on one of the chairs.

"Did you give him breakfast yet?"

"No," Walter replied. "Paige usually feeds him when she comes in."

"The question is, though, is she going to come in?" Toby asked as he lifted Ferret Bueller onto the table.

"Why wouldn't she?" Walter asked with a frown. He heard the coffee beside him stop percolating so he turned around slowly and reached for the cinnamon beside the coffee maker.

"Oh, god, can't you just leave the coffee alone for once?" Toby groaned dramatically. "Let Paige add that crap to her cup instead of the whole pot."

"I like cinnamon in my coffee too."

"Of course you do," Toby drawled sarcastically. "And putting it into the pot is one way to try to get her to stop being tweaked at you. I get it. Have you decided to man up finally and put an end to the misery that is the Waige mating ritual?"

"Toby," Walter stirred the now added cinnamon in the pot and then poured himself a cup. It wasn't his favorite mug because that one was still in shards on the floor of the loft. He was going to have to try to clean that up before Paige saw it and asked him what happened. Suddenly Walter's brow furrowed. "The _what_ mating ritual?"

"Do you see what I did with your names right there?" Toby grinned as he nodded his head. "I combined Walter and Paige and called you Waige. It's what fans of TV and movie couples do. I don't get it but whatever. I kinda like Waige, though, and I think I'll use it to describe you. Unless, of course, you keep your head up your ass and don't make things right with her."

Walter stirred milk into his coffee. "Toby, we're not discussing this. Paige and I will be fine."

If the shrink only knew how fine things were. Finally.

"You keep telling yourself that, 197." Toby rubbed Ferret Bueller's belly as the ferret chattered happily. "I hope you spent some time last night thinking about how stupid your speed dating idea was and not plan do it again."

"I won't be speed dating ever again, Toby," Walter confirmed as he took a sip of his coffee and let it warm him from the inside. Well, unless it was Paige's version of speed dating, Walter thought to himself, and his lips curved as he lifted his coffee cup to his lips again.

A pain shot through Walter's right buttock as he shifted and he clenched his teeth. Paige had told him to take a few Advil when he got home. He hadn't but the bottle was upstairs and there was no way in hell he was walking back up there anytime soon but he wished he had listened to her because she was clearly right, as usual.

"Good," Toby said, agreeing with Walter about the demise of his speed dating life. He stopped petting Ferret Bueller and picked him up. "Now you just need to figure out how to rub our pretty liaison the right way so she forgives you," he added with an exaggerated wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Toby," Walter warned as he turned to walk away and he felt a shooting pain dart right down his leg and he grunted.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Walter snapped through clenched teeth as he ambled toward his desk slowly.

"Were you hurt yesterday?" Toby asked, concerned, and put Ferret Bueller back on the table as he frowned. "You seemed fine last night."

"I was thrown twenty feet from that bomb's blast," Walter said, thinking quickly as he walked toward his desk. "I guess it's just catching up to me."

Toby eyed him narrowly but Walter ignored him as he sat down in his chair, resisting the urge to groan again.

"Do you want me to take a look at you?" Toby asked as he followed and stood beside Walter's desk.

"No," Walter replied as he booted up his laptop.

Toby watched him silently for a minute before he shrugged. "Okay. Let me know if you change your mind. So, back to the topic at hand. Tell me, have you given much thought to how you're going to grovel and get Paige to forgive you for being a bonehead? God I wish she had been here when you word vomited out your feelings. That would have solved so much of this drama right then."

"I told you, Toby. I'm not going to discuss this with you. And you're going to leave Paige alone today," Walter warned, his tone broaching no room for argument.

"You have to do something, Walt," Toby replied exasperated. "When you and the project manager are off then cases go sideways… case in point yesterday."

"Toby, enough," Walter barked as the garage door opened and Happy walked in carrying a safetran hybrid mechanical bell.

Walter felt the disappointment seep into him when it wasn't Paige but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Where did you get that?" he asked as he pursed his lips.

"I found it," Happy said as she set it on the table and removed her leather jacket before tossing it over one of the chairs.

"You just found a railroad crossing mechanical bell?" Toby asked incredulously.

"Yes," she replied as she scowled at her quasi-boyfriend. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"What is that for?" Walter asked even more curious now.

"You'll see when I'm done," Happy replied as she grinned. "Doc, stop harassing O'Brien and come help me with this."

"What makes you think I'm harassing him?"

"Because you always harass him. Now come help me," she commanded in and the look on her face dared him to defy her.

Toby grinned, clearly happy that Happy was asking for his help.

"Saved by the bell," Toby said to Walter before he started walking away after the mechanic. "But this isn't over, 197. Not by a long shot."

###################

Paige walked slowly as she approached the door to the garage. She'd taken two Advil but her thighs still ached with every step she took. She felt like she'd been ridden hard and put away wet, which in many ways was an apt description after the night she and Walter spent. Not that she could regret one second of it. It was worth every pull and burn of the muscles in her thighs and the residual ache deep within her lower abdomen. While she wasn't exactly limping, it was obvious she was uncomfortable and she didn't want either Walter or the team to know it. Especially Walter.

He'd looked too smug before he left her condo a few hours earlier, after seeing she was also feeling the aftereffects of their night of passion. Paige knew she shouldn't have laughed at him when she realized he'd pulled a muscle in his butt but she couldn't help it. It served her right, though, because as soon as she tried to stand her thighs let her know, quite clearly, that they had been used beyond their endurance during their activities. She downplayed her discomfort before Walter left her condo but she suspected he knew what she hiding her true discomfort.

She just had to make it to her desk and then she could spend the day sitting there doing paperwork. Surely no one would suspect anything since the day after a case she usually spent the majority of her time at her desk doing paperwork.

Just as Paige reached the door, she jumped as Sylvester's voice rang out from beside her. She inhaled a sharp breath and a look of pain flashed across her face.

"Hey Paige," he smiled genuinely before his smile slipped. "Oh, are you alright?"

"Jeez, Sly, you scared me," she said as she lifted her hand to her heart.

"Sorry," he looked contrite and she gave him a reassuring smile. "But you looked like you were moving slow. Are you okay?" His voice changed from curiosity to one of concern. "Did you get hurt yesterday? I thought you and Toby and Happy were far enough away from the blast."

"We were. I'm fine, Sly, don't worry about me." Paige patted his arm as she turned to grab the handle of the door.

"Are you still mad at Walter?' he asked getting right to the point.

Paige stilled, wondering how to answer that without lying to him. "I can never stay mad at Walter for very long, Sly, you know that."

"Good," Sylvester sounded relieved as he reached around her and pulled the garage door open. He stood back and let her walk in before him.

Walter looked up from his laptop as the door opened again and when he saw her he immediately stood up, feeling his right leg give way and he gripped the side of the desk to keep from crashing back into his chair as he released a soft grunt.

"Morning." Sylvester called out as he walked over to his desk. He avoided eye contact with Walter which didn't go unnoticed by the genius. He and Sly were going to have to talk about that video at some point but if he confronted his friend about it he would likely have to confess what actions he took after watching it. And he wasn't ready to do that.

Paige looked away from Walter, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to curve her lips. She could feel Walter's eyes on her as she walked slowly to her desk, trying and failing to be inconspicuous.

"What the hell happened to you?" Toby asked as he walked out of the kitchen carrying Ferret Bueller having abandoned Happy and her latest project.

"Ah, nothing," she replied as she dropped her purse on her desk. Toby handed her the ferret.

"He really needs to be fed," Toby murmured before asking, "If nothing's wrong why are you walking like you just ran a 10k?"

Paige tucked Ferret Bueller against her chest and her burrowed comfortably against her, chattering happily. "I worked out last night after I got home," she replied and, technically, it wasn't a lie. "I think I just pulled something."

Walter coughed as his coffee went down the wrong pipe. Paige shot him a narrow glare but it was his turn to smirk. His eyes were still on her, though, on her legs in her short skirt, to be exact, as he walked slowly toward her desk. She'd taken to wearing those kinds of skirts, as of late, and it drove him to distraction before he'd seen what was underneath. But now that he had, now that he'd not only seen, but touched, he suspected his distraction was going to increase tenfold.

Paige felt the heat of his gaze and it made her want to squirm as she felt her heart rate speed up. Was it hot in the garage this morning?

"You and boy wonder over there are both a mess," Toby continued seemingly oblivious to either of their internal musings. "Where are you hurting? Do you want me to look at you?" he asked Paige the exact question he asked Walter a few minutes ago.

"No," Paige blurted out, silently cursing herself when Toby gave her a strange look. "I'm fine, Toby. It's just sore muscles. I've taken some Ibuprofen and I'll be fine."

"So stubborn, the both of you," Toby muttered as he shook his head.

"Leave them alone, Doc," Happy called from her work bench.

Toby ignored her and continued to interrogate Paige. "So working out, huh? Trying to work off your aggravation at our fearless and clueless leader?"

"I'm standing right here, you know," Walter scowled as he arrived beside her desk.

"I know." Toby just grinned completely unrepentant.

"I'm no longer aggravated at Walter, Toby," Paige answered as she placed Ferret Bueller on her desk and sat down gingerly on her chair. Her thigh muscles shook and she inhaled a deep breath as she settled on the soft cushion. Ferret Bueller climbed onto her chest and burrowed against her again, nuzzling his head against her throat above the top button of her shirt, and she started stroking his fur gently again. "We were all just on edge because of the case yesterday and things got blown out of proportion."

It was the truth and Paige shot a quick glance as Walter and he smiled softly at her now. She could see he was proud of her for finding a way to tell the truth without giving their secret away.

"Are you really over his stupidity?" Toby asked suspiciously. "Not that I want you to stay mad at him any longer than necessary but it can't be his charm and good looks that made you forgive him so easily because this is Walter we're talking about."

"Still standing right here," Walter said as his scowl returned.

Paige laughed softly now at the petulant look on his face and she wanted desperately to kiss him. Whoa…. She was going to have to nip those kinds of thoughts in the bud pretty damn quick because public displays of affection would never be something Walter was comfortable with and she was under no illusions he would be. It was a balance they were definitely going to have to figure out because Paige was extremely affectionate and her desire to touch Walter now that she, technically, could was already setting in.

"So you're not at all concerned about him speed dating again?" Toby asked doubtfully as Walter walked toward the kitchen.

"Nope." Paige shook her head as she pulled Ferret Bueller away from her chest where he was currently trying to shove his head down her shirt. She set him on the desk again and reached for her folder on the corner of her desk. "Walter can do what he wants. With whomever he wants." Paige reiterated her words from the previous night but they had a very different meaning this morning.

Only two people realized that though.

Paige's phone chimed indicating she had in incoming text. She pulled her phone out of her purse, giving Ferret Bueller the opportunity to crawl inside it, and saw that it was from Walter. Her eyes shot to him for a second before she put her phone face down on her desk without even reading the text, but she did see one word. _Beautiful._

Toby shook his head frustrated. "The two of you are in so much denial I'm beginning to think there is no hope for you."

"Doc, I said leave them alone," Happy snapped loudly from across the garage. "Or you can forget me going to that monster truck show with you this weekend."

Toby stomped away complaining under his breath about stubborn friends and wicked women using their wiles to manipulate him.

Paige chuckled as she booted up her laptop. She pulled Ferret Bueller out of her purse and set him on the desk again. He chattered defiantly before he crawled over and sprawled out on the keyboard and starting licking his belly. Walter walked up beside her and placed a cup of coffee on her desk beside her computer. As he pulled his hand away he let his fingertips brush softly against her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.

She smiled up at him. "Never better. How about you?"

His lips again curved into his signature grin as he reiterated her words. "Never better."

Walter wanted to say more. In truth, he wanted to lean down and kiss her. But his glutes and their mutual agreement prevented it and he knew this was just the beginning of what was sure to be a very long day.

"Thanks for the coffee," she murmured softly as she lifted the cup and took a sip, humming as the taste of coffee and cinnamon hit her taste buds.

"You're welcome," he replied and he was about to say more but her cell rang, cutting him off.

Paige turned her phone back over and saw Ralph's face smiling sweetly up at her. Ferret Bueller tried to grab her phone but she shook him off as she lifted it to her ear.

"Hi sweetheart," she greeted her son. "Did you enjoy your sleepover at Billy's?"

 _"Yeah,"_ he replied over the phone. _"But I forgot my math project at home."_

"Oh, where did you leave it?" she asked as Walter grabbed Ferret Bueller off her desk and walked back toward his work station in the back of the garage. Once he was far enough away, so that no one could see him, he brought Ferret Bueller to his face and sniffed the small animal.

"Do you need me to go home and get it and bring it to you at school?" was the last thing Walter heard as he and Ferret Bueller limped out the back door of the garage. He needed some air but he didn't want to lose the scent of Paige when he did so he tucked the ferret against his chest.

Paige glanced at Walter as he walked away while she listened to Ralph on the other end of the line.

 _"No, Billy's mom is going to stop by our house on the way."_

"That's nice of her," Paige said as she focused all her attention on her son. "Be sure to say thank you. Do you have your keys?"

 _"Yeah,"_ he said and she could have sworn she heard him roll his eyes.

"Okay. Have a good day, sweetheart. I'll pick you up after school."

 _"Toby, Happy and Sylvester are supposed to pick me up today. They're taking me with them to the convention center for the E3 Expo."_

"I thought they were taking you on Saturday?" she asked and as the words left her mouth she instantly realized her son would be occupied _all day_ Saturday, leaving her free to do whatever she wanted. And she knew exactly what, or rather who, she wanted to spend the day doing.

It was then that she realized Ralph was talking in her ear and she'd missed what he'd said. "What was that, honey?" she said as she focused on her son again.

 _"I said they are taking me Saturday,"_ he huffed in the way only a ten year old can. _"But they're taking me after school today too. You said it was okay. It's still okay, right?"_

"Yes, of course it is," she assured him as she leaned back I her chair. "But let me check with them to make sure they remember."

 _"_ _They do. I already talked to Sly this morning."_

"Oh, okay," she smiled because these misfit geniuses loved her son as much as she did and had become as much as part of her and Ralph's family as she and Ralph had become part of theirs. "Then I'll see you when you get home later."

 _"Okay. Bye."_

"I love you," Paige said but the line went dead.

She sighed softly, long used to Ralph's lack of reciprocity when she told him she loved him, and wondered if she was destined to love men who never said the words to her. He'd never once told her he loved her in his short 10 years of life. She told him every day but he never reciprocated, although he showed her in other little ways all the time so she didn't doubt it.

She wondered if she would hear the words from Walter. Ralph was so much like him. She assumed it was because Ralph's IQ was so close to Walter's, higher than any of the other team, and only 12 points lower than Walter's, at 185. It was eerie sometimes how much he was like Walter that if she didn't know how biologically impossible it was for Ralph to be Walter's, she could have sworn they shared genetics.

Last night, Walter had blurted out how he felt in the only way, she knew, he knew how, when he asked her if she knew when he fell in love with her. Then, later, she could have sworn she heard him say the word love against her neck, but aside from her name everything else he said was essentially unintelligible, so she could have been mistaken.

She was under no illusions that Walter would likely not say the words often, if at all. But he was a man of action, so she had no doubts that he, like Ralph, would show her in small and big ways how he felt.

Then again, she had never figured him for being as intense and relentless as he'd been last night. Her body still ached, deep, in all the right places from it and the way he way he looked at her earlier it seemed like he was as desperate to have her again as she was to have him. Of course, neither one of them was in any condition for that but the thought still made a pulsing sensation low and deep in her abdomen.

##############

A half hour later, Paige stood beside the kitchen table and placed the small dish of food in front of Ferret Bueller, who had come scampering back to her desk a few minutes earlier.

"Come on now, it's time to eat."

The ferret clamped his paws around her hand and butted his head against her palm so she stroked around his ears gently.

"Stop it and eat. You're worse than Ralph," she chuckled as he slithered his entire body underneath her hand and then grabbed at the piece of meat she held in her other.

She felt Walter behind her even though he didn't say a word. He reached around her and petted Ferret Bueller's head as the ferret ate out of her fingers.

She quickly looked toward Sylvester and Toby's desks and saw they were both occupied and her eyes fluttered closed as she said his name softly.

Walter stepped closer behind her, his body just barely pressing against hers, as he rested one hand on her waist, while the other stroked the animal on the table.

"Walter," she said his name again, this time a little louder. "It's during business hours."

"Mmhmm," he murmured noncommittally before he, too, shot a quick look toward their friends.

"We agreed that this kind of contact during business hours should be avoided," she whispered with a smile.

"Mmhmm," he murmured noncommittally again and seeing the team was occupied he bent his face down and brushed his nose over the nape of her neck, letting the long strands of her hair tickle his nose. He inhaled softly, the scent of her invading his nostrils, and his fingers flexed against her hip before he lifted them and swept her hair over her shoulder. He wanted to clamp his lips on her neck and suck until her knees gave out.

"Did you just sniff me?" she asked in an amused tone and he froze.

"Huh, what? No." He shook his head quickly even though she wasn't looking at him. His fingers pressed into her hip again and flexed.

"Because it sounded and felt like you just sniffed me," she challenged as she turned toward and quirked a brow at him.

"Of course I didn't sniff you Paige," Walter scoffed quietly. "That would just be weird, right?"

Paige's lips curved up into an amused smirk."Yes, it would be a little weird. Walter."

He pursed his lips because he knew he'd been caught and there was no way he was going to be able to talk his way out of it. She looked at him, waiting patiently for him to respond.

"Because you smell good?" It was a statement and a question at the same time.

She snorted softly and then quickly looked over to see if Toby or Sly noticed. She attempted to step aside and put some distance between them but his fingers flexed and tightened on her waist and held her in place.

"Fine. I like the way you smell," Walter conceded reluctantly.

"Uh, thank you. I think," she laughed softly, secretly delighted. She had a feeling, as always, Walter O'Brien was going to constantly surprise her.

Walter then lowered his voice an octave and continued. "I especially liked the way you smelled last night with my scent all over you."

Paige couldn't stop the small breath of a moan that escaped her lips.

"Is that macho and possessive?" he asked and she could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Completely," she admitted breathlessly. "But it's also completely hot." His fingers flexed against her again as a low growl rumbled in the back of his throat. "And so is when you do that," she confessed as she swallowed thickly.

Walter was lowering his mouth to her neck, the team near them be damned, when something bounced off his forehead.

"What the-?" Walter yelped as a piece of Ferret Bueller's breakfast fell onto the table.

Paige laughed and stepped away from him because she needed space. She couldn't believe either one of them were about to let him do that.

"No throwing your food Ferret Bueller," she scolded the animal as she picked him up again and yanked gently on his ear. He swatted her hand away just as Happy's voice rang out from behind Walter.

"What's going on in here?"

Walter quickly backed up against the counter, looking anywhere but at Paige. He groaned as his muscles, again, protested his movements.

"Ferret Bueller is chucking his breakfast at Walter," Paige replied her voice steady, seemingly completely unaffected by the last few minutes and Walter narrowed his eyes. How could she be so unaffected when his heart was pounding in his chest like a jackhammer?

"He does that to Toby all the time," Happy laughed seemingly obvious to what she almost walked in on.

#############

Just before lunch Walter walked toward his desk, focusing on the tablet in his hand, not watching where he was going as was so often the case. His hip slammed into the corner of Paige's desk and sent her water bottle toppling over onto the pile of papers she was working on as it send shards of pain radiating through his backside.

"Damn it," he muttered as Paige looked up startled.

"Walter?" Paige said as she saw the pain cross his face. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry," he said as he dropped his tablet on to her in-box tray and reached for the tissues she was now using to mop up the water.

His hand touched hers and he jumped back like he'd been burned. "Let me get you some paper towels."

"I got it," she said as she watched him bolt into the kitchen, as quickly as he was able, confused by his erratic behavior. She'd barely seen him in the last three hours, which was strange because he would, normally, be working at his desk across from her.

By the time he came back, with what Paige figured was at least half of a roll of paper towels, she had the small amount of water mopped up.

"Here," he said as he handed them to her before shoving his hands in his pockets. She set them aside.

"Walter, are you okay?"

"Yes," he said as he picked up his tablet again. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, Walter. It's just water," she said soothingly, her tone mimicking the way she used to speak to Ralph when he panicked over something he'd done wrong.

She had no idea what was going on with him. A few short hours ago he didn't seem to be able to keep his hands and mouth off her but now he was acting like he was afraid to touch her.

"I've got to get back to this," he said before turning and walking away. She watched him climb the stairs noting how he reached back and rubbed his right buttock as he lifted his leg each time he ascended another step.

She sighed and sat back in her chair, her brow furrowing. She wanted to follow him but now wasn't a good time for them to try to talk about this, even in his loft above. Everyone in this garage could hear everyone else all the time. There was virtually no privacy and that was going to be a challenge.

They didn't specifically define the change between them last night. Obviously their relationship drastically changed but exactly how they were going to navigate that change was something they still needed to figure out. They needed time alone to talk about it because it was clear he wasn't going to be able to remain stealth for very long. That just wasn't Walter's personality.

Paige sighed tiredly before diving back into her work. She'd think about this and make Walter talk about it later, when the rest of the team went to pick up Ralph after school.

###############

Toby walked into the loft uninvited and Walter looked up, briefly, from his place on the sofa, deciding right then and there that he was going to have to put a lock on his door. He was working on his laptop and Ferret Bueller was napping on his chest just beneath his chin.

"Okay, we need to talk, 197," Toby said unceremoniously as he plopped down on the chair across from him. "You act like a crazy person more often than I would like to admit but today you're in rare form. What the hell is up with you?"

"What are you going on about now, Toby?" Walter asked distracted as he focused on his laptop again. "I don't have time to talk right now. I'm coding."

"You're acting like a lunatic."

"What do you mean?" Walter finally looked up at the shrink. "I'm just sitting here working?"

"You can't even be in the same room as Paige today," Toby accused as he pointed a finger at Walter.

"I've been in the room with her several times," Walter answered obviously.

"Dude, you act like you're being electrocuted every time you're within 10 feet of her. This garage is not that big; you won't be able to keep that kind of distance for long."

"Toby you really need to let this go. I mean it," Walter warned as he lifted Ferret Bueller off his chest and put him on the sofa beside him. The ferret didn't even flinch.

Toby looked at Walter sympathetically. "Walt, she doesn't know what you said about her after she left last night. And I know I was being kind of a dick earlier but none of us are going to tell her. But you need to."

"Toby, you need to stop obsessing about me and Paige," Walter huffed in an aggravated tone. "Shouldn't you be focusing on your own relationship rather than mine?"

Toby's lips curved up into a grin as wide as the Grinch's and Walter realized his faux pas. "Oh, so you're saying want a relationship with her now? This is a big step, 197."

"Toby, quit being a jerk." Walter put his laptop on the coffee table as he scowled.

"No, you need to take advantage of this. Paige has clearly tapped into her reasonable, forgiving Paige mindset, but that doesn't mean you should be off the hook. You need to grovel, my friend. Women love it when men grovel, trust me."

Walter looked at him for a long moment. Toby was never going to leave him alone at this rate. So he decided to dangle a carrot in front of the shrink and see if that would satisfy him. "Toby, while I recognize the validity of what you said to me last night. and what Paige said, you just need to give me time to figure this out, okay."

"I get you don't want to screw it up, Walt, but a woman like Paige won't wait around for some nerdy schmuck to get his act together." Walter pursed his lips as Toby continued. "Did you see the way that FBI agent looked at her yesterday? No you probably didn't because you were too busy trying to keep your speed dating buddy from blowing up."

"What FBI agent?" Walter asked as his pursed lips turned into a full-fledged frown.

"The one who was leading the case with Cabe."

"How was he looking at her?" Walter sifted through his memories of yesterday and found the guy. He remembered meeting him and then he didn't pay any more attention to him after that. He was tall and handsome and as the memories came back to him, unencumbered, Walter saw glimpses in his periphery of the man talking to Paige several times.

"Like she was the all you can eat breakfast buffet at Kovelksy's," Toby answered as he nodded his head. "Granted she turned him down when he asked for her number and is she wanted to have dinner sometime. But the point I'm making is she won't wait around for you to get your head out of your ass so you need to wise up, young man, and go get your girl."

Jealousy surged through Walter fierce and fast and it shocked him to his core. Sure, he'd felt jealousy before, particularly when Drew came sniffing around, but it didn't feel like this. If that FBI agent so much as inquired about Paige again Walter would erase him.

"Toby, I'm done talking about this," the genius snapped irritably. "I will handle my relationship with Paige as I see fit, not how any of the rest of you think I should. And you all need to butt the hell out. You're stepping over a line you need to back away from."

Toby stared at him, clearly looking for something. Walter held his gaze and, finally, the behaviorist frowned, visibly disappointed.

"Fine. I'm done. But when you lose her Walter, don't say I didn't warn you."

Toby stood up and walked out of the loft as Walter stared out the window, his coding now long forgotten. His absently picked up Ferret Bueller and put the still sleeping ferret back on his chest as he replayed every memory he had of yesterday in his mind.

#############

"Dineen," Happy said as she walked up to Paige where she sat on the sofa typing on her tablet.

"Yes, _Happy_?" Paige emphasized the mechanic's first name to make a point.

"What's up with you and Walt today?" Happy jumped right in, as was her norm. "I know you're tweaked at him but come on, are you really surprised by his illogical logic?"

Paige rolled her eyes. "Happy, I'll tell you what I told Toby earlier. Walter and I are fine, okay."

Happy folded her arms across her chest. "You say that but the two of you can't stand to be within five feet of each other. I really prefer if we're on a case when the two of you aren't getting along. At least you both act normal."

"How are we not acting normal?" Paige asked though a laugh. "We're both working on our own individual tasks."

"Yeah, but he still, usually, tries to be somewhere in the vicinity of you. Don't act like you don't know that." The look in Happy's eyes told Paige not to even try to argue because she wouldn't win. "He's been hiding in the loft all damn day."

Paige couldn't disagree so, instead, she offered causally, "Maybe he has things to do in the loft."

Happy scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "I just left him in the loft. He's petting Ferret Bueller and staring out the window. I think I actually saw him sniffing the furry little thing but I had to have imagined it because that would just be freaking weird, even for him."

Sniffing Ferret Bueller?

"But either way," Happy continued, ignoring the curious look on Paige's face. "He usually does his computer work at his desk."

"I don't know what to tell you, Happy, except I think you and Toby spend way too much time obsessing over me and Walter." Paige stood up, still moving a little slow, although her thighs weren't feeling as tight, and started toward her desk.

"Since when do you go to the gym?" Happy asked suddenly, segueing the conversation to the new topic.

"What?" Paige asked as she stopped walking and turned around to face the mechanic.

"You heard me."

Paige watched Happy as she formulated her answer. It was very difficult to keep a secret without resorting to lying. "I never said I went to the gym. I said I worked out."

"Semantics," Happy retorted quickly. "In the almost two years that we've known you, not once have you ever mentioned that you work out."

"And your point is?"

"Nothing, I guess," Happy shrugged, her demeanor changing from suspicious to casual. "But maybe you should use some Aspercreme. Although BioFreeze works much better," Happy offered helpfully before she walked off.

Paige shook her head wondering just exactly what that semi-interrogation was all about and if she'd ever fully understand the geniuses in her life.

She dropped back in her chair but also wondered if maybe Happy was right. The ibuprofen was wearing off and all she wanted to do was go home and soak in a long hot tub. If she and Walter didn't need the time to talk while the rest of the team would be away from the garage with Ralph, she would probably just go home and do that. But they needed to talk. They needed to figure this out because they weren't going to be able to keep it from everyone for long.

But Ralph needed to know first. He was her most important thing. She suspected he would be fine with her and Walter dating, maybe even happy. And like Walter, he was very predictable in his responses, but sometimes she miscalculated his reactions.

Toby walked up beside her desk, standing there silently until she looked up at him.

"Is there something you want, Toby?" she quirked an eyebrow at him inquisitively.

"Yes, project manager, there is. I have my summary report from the case yesterday." He handed her a manila folder. "I emailed it but that's the hard copy."

"Thanks," she smiled as she took the folder from him before hitting a few keys on her laptop to bring up her email again.

When Toby remained standing beside her, rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet, she asked without looking up, "Is there something else?"

"Yep," Toby replied. "Two things actually."

She sat back and gave him her attention. "And they are?"

"Well first, since I'm done with my _homework_ , and Sly and Happy are too, we're going to leave soon to pick up the Ralphster. But I'm leaving in a few minutes because I have a couple of errands to run first."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked. "You don't need my permission to leave."

"I know but you are the project manager. And Walter always stresses how, during work hours, you're pretty much in charge."

Paige couldn't tell if he was being truthful or sarcastic so she snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, right."

"He does," Toby said seriously and she had her answer.

"Okay, if you say so," she shrugged. "But you still don't need to report to me. I'm not a babysitter."

"You mean you're not Paige Dineen, super nanny?" he teased with a smirk, referring to Walter's fiasco of a television interview a year earlier.

"Toby, stop it. You need to let that go. By the way," she continued and changed the subject. "Thanks for taking Ralph today and tomorrow. He's really excited."

"Of course he is. Spending time with me makes everyone excited."

She rolled her eyes, not at all surprised by his response. "And on that note, you had a second thing you wanted to discuss?"

"Actually, the other thing isn't important. But we're planning to take Ralph to dinner, if that's okay, so why don't you go home and soak in a hot tub and ease those tired and sore muscles of yours," he offered casually.

Paige's eyes widened, surprised when Toby said the exact same thing she was thinking a few minutes earlier and then they narrowed. "It's like you read my mind, Toby."

The behaviorist shrugged as he started toward his desk. "Yeah, like I've always said, I'm a brilliant doctor." He grabbed his hat from his desk and set it on his head. "You have an enjoyable evening, Miss Dineen," he added as he tipped his hat to her before calling out, "Happy, Sly, I'll be back in thirty. Be ready to go or we're gonna be late picking up Ralph."

################

Two hours later, Paige finally finished her report, compiling and incorporating the rest of the teams' notes into the master notes. Walter had emailed her his notes about an hour ago and she was finally able to put the finishing touches on it and file it away.

She leaned back in her chair and stretched. The movement actually made her thighs ache but the majority of her discomfort was gone now. She looked toward the window behind Walter's desk and saw the last vestiges of the sunset reflecting through the glass. She then looked toward the stairs. Walter was still in the loft, as far as she knew, and it was time for them to talk.

Walter had been watching her from the other side of the garage for about twenty minutes before she leaned back in her chair and stretched. He indulged in just soaking in the sight of her concentrating on her work and was, once again, struck by how impossibly beautiful she was.

When they first met, he didn't notice, right away, how pretty she was. Sure, it probably registered, subconsciously, that she was an attractive woman but he was so focused on her interaction with Ralph that her outer beauty slipped by him.

It was understated and innate, so much of who she was, that it was easy to just overlook it as her inner beauty shined through. And Walter wasn't one to typically notice that as his mind was constantly occupied with other things. But as time passed even he wasn't immune to her corporeal beauty.

What in the hell was she doing with him?

Yes, he was the fourth smartest person on the planet but he was emotionally stunted, incapable of connecting with those who were intellectually inferior to him and unable to communicate in any kind of normal way. And he would probably always have those shortcomings regardless of her efforts to enlighten him. Then again, she was intellectually inferior and he managed to connect to her in a way he'd never connected with anyone. It just proved her superiority to him and he, once again, wondered what she could possibly see in him because guys like him didn't get women like Paige Dineen.

But she loved him, despite all his flaws. She told him so the previous night and one thing about Paige was that she didn't waiver in her honesty. It was still almost unfathomable to him that what he felt for her was love because he'd spent so much of his life denying its existence. But there was no other logical explanation for the intensity of what he felt for her. Familial love was something he could comprehend because he loved his sister beyond comprehension. And he supposed he loved his parents. They were his parents, after all, even though he never connected with them. And he genuinely cared for his friends who had become his surrogate family. They gave him a safe place to be himself just as he gave to them.

And Walter believed that what he felt for Ralph, while in a way, unfamiliar, felt familial and patriarchal. But the overwhelming, all encompassing, dare he say romantic, love he felt for Paige was destabilizing, in so many ways, as he'd told her in the weather balloon not so long ago. It made him vulnerable and he didn't like feeling vulnerable.

But he what he felt for her surpassed anything he had ever experienced. He went so long denying having any feelings at all. But Paige changed all that. She showed him, time and again, that he was capable of emotion as she constantly drew it out of him without even trying. And he needed time to analyze these new, partially uncomfortable, and unfamiliar emotions.

He needed time to just immerse himself in her and learn everything there was to know about her and his feelings for her. Walter didn't do well when he didn't understand something and he just hoped that she would be patient with him because, despite his genius, his learning curve about anything other than math and science wasn't something that was immediate.

He walked toward her quietly, not wanting to disturb her. He knew they were finally alone, having heard the rest of the team leave to pick up Ralph from school, but it had taken him this long to get the courage to seek her out. After last night he felt so connected to her that it actually felt like his skin tingled when he was near her, despite how illogical that was.

All day he felt like everything around him was hyper-adrenalized and he couldn't focus. It had taken every last ounce of willpower he possessed to keep his hands off her and that was the primary reason he kept his distance. After what happened in the kitchen he knew he needed to put some space between them before he dragged her up the stairs like a caveman. He was going to have to find a way to balance this, _they_ were going to have to find a way, and, logically, he knew it was just going to take time and practice, but the way his entire body clenched with need around her, now that he'd had her, was almost overwhelming him.

And even though he was able to get her out of his mind for chunks of time today, and get his work accomplished, he still wasn't as productive as he normally was. But part of that probably had to do with the fact that he kept Ferret Bueller with him most of the day and when the ferret wasn't sleeping he was crawling all over Walter, sniffing and chattering and trying to burrow into his shirt. The animal did that to Paige all the time but it was the first time he'd done it to Walter.

Walter watched as Paige pushed her chair back and he stopped walking only a few feet from her. She rose from the chair and that damn skirt clung to the back of her thighs causing his fingers to flex involuntarily.

She turned and was surprised to see him standing behind her. "Oh, I was just coming to see you."

His lips curved as he looked at her intently. When he didn't respond to what she said, Paige asked, "Walter, what's going on with you?"

"Huh?" he finally spoke distracted by the way the overhead light in the garage reflected in the dark depths of her eyes.

She tilted her head and looked at him oddly. "You've been avoiding me all day."

"No I haven't," he replied automatically and her look told him he needed to try again.

"Yes you have," she insisted. "Ever since Happy almost caught us in the kitchen you've been acting like I'm toxic or something. You can't get away from me fast enough."

"Don't be ridiculous, Paige. I'm not acting any differently." Why was he denying it? It was just the two of them now and he didn't need to hide.

"Really?" she challenged. "One minute you're acting like you want to bend me over the kitchen table and the next you're running from me like your ass is on fire."

Walter would have probably been amused by her description of him with his ass on fire if his brain wasn't stuck on the first half of her sentence and the images it invoked. Now all he could think about was bending her over that round kitchen table, with its checkered table cloth beneath her, her body moving beneath his as he plunged inside her. He swallowed reflexively and his eyes shot to the table in question.

When had she developed this much power over him? Or maybe the real question was when hadn't she had it?

"Walter?" she said his name twice before his eyes met hers again.

"Huh?" he said again and shook his head to dispel the images that were rushing through his brain. She deserved more respect than just fulfilling lust filled fantasies for him. And she had it. She was one of the few people on the planet that Walter truly respected, but the events of last night seemed to have short circuited his brain and Walter wondered if he should be worried.

"Are you even listening to me?" Paige asked in an annoyed tone.

"Yes, of course," he replied automatically and he saw the annoyance slip from her face and uncertainty replace it.

"Walter, do you regret what happened last night?" she as quietly.

"What? No! No! Never! No!" He stumbled over the words as his brain tried to catch up. "Do you?" he asked as he reached up and scratched the back of his head.

His awkward fumbling was one of the main reasons Paige loved him and she smiled as her eyes softened. "No, but the way you're acting so hot and cold today makes me wonder if you do."

"No!" Walter reiterated firmly and he stepped closer to her but didn't dare touch her at the moment. He pursed his lips before he continued. "But you didn't want any of them to know about us until we figure this out. You wanted Ralph to know first. I'm just trying to honor your wishes."

"Your odd behavior is going to give us away before anything else will," she said as her lips quirked.

"Why didn't you tell me about the FBI agent from yesterday asking you out?" he blurted out suddenly unable to hold back.

She looked genuinely surprised by his question. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"After what happened between us last night it has everything to do with it," he replied in a clipped tone not liking her ambiguous response.

"I don't see how," she replied as she watched his face intently, folding her arms across her chest. He could tell she was getting defensive. But so was he, although he wasn't sure why.

"Just answer my question," he replied and she arched her brow at him. He pursed his lips tighter and sighed. "Please," he added recognizing he was being rude.

She dropped her arms to her sides. "Because I honestly forgot about it. I didn't have my mind on anything but you last night," she finished truthfully as she smiled almost shyly at him. Why did the sight of her smile make his heart beat faster?

"Would you have said yes to him?" he asked as he bit his lower lip apprehensively. "If I hadn't come over last night and apologized would you have gone out with him?"

"No, Walter," Paige could see the insecurity in his eyes and she wanted to reach for and soothe him, but she'd been waiting all day to talk to him, about them, and that clearly needed to happen before anything else. "I had zero interest in him. Where is this coming from?"

He shrugged realizing how illogical he was being but he refused to admit it out loud.

"My interest right now is in why it feels like you're pulling away from me. I know we agreed to keep this just between us, for now, but is the reason you want to do that because you aren't sure?" He looked at her and his brow furrowed as if he was trying to decipher what she was asking. "It's okay if you aren't sure, Walter. This is a big step for both of us."

"I'm sure," he said quickly, and with absolutely no hesitation, and it made Paige's heart flutter in her chest. She wasn't sure what she would have done if he said he wasn't sure.

"Then why couldn't you stand to be in the same room as me today and why did you flinch when we touched? I don't understand."

He stared at her for a long moment. "This is why," he growled as he grabbed her wrist and yanked her against him. His mouth covered her lips and devoured her with a bruising kiss, taking advantage of her startled gasp to push his tongue into her mouth.

Paige instantly wrapped her arms around his neck as she opened her mouth to him, moaning as his tongue sought and found hers.

Walter clutched her against him and guided her backwards until her back pressed against the metal and concrete column behind her desk. Paige grunted softly and made a mental note that Walter had a thing for pushing her against hard surfaces.

Walter pressed the length of his body against her letting her feel how hard he was for her. He ignored the burning in his glutes as he reached down and gripped the back of Paige's thighs. He hiked her up, pressing her more firmly against the column, as he pulled her legs around him. She whimpered into his mouth and he knew it was from a combination of her strained muscles and her desire, which he could feel pressed against the front of his pants. The heat of her seeped through his clothes and his body surged as he instinctively rocked his hips against her. He kissed her deeper as his hands slid up the back of her thighs again, beneath her short skirt.

His fingertips dipped beneath the elastic of her panties and he gripped the soft flesh of her ass. He flexed his fingers as he quickly, mentally, calculated how long and what route to take to get her upstairs and into his bed. He was sure his body would protest, it already was, but if he didn't get her upstairs he was going to spin them around and take her right there on the top of her desk. And as pleasant an image as that was, almost as much as the fantasy of taking her over the kitchen table, he couldn't allow himself to do that. His eidetic memory would wreak too much havoc on his ability to work if he did that and then had to look at her desk every day.

Paige's body melted against him as she tightened her legs around him. Her teeth sank into his tongue and she slid her fingers into his hair and gripped the short strands, tugging gently as she moaned into his mouth.

The kiss deepened and lengthened until finally the need for oxygen became too much and Paige tore her lips away. She unwrapped her legs from around him and lowered them to the ground. She stood on shaky legs, grateful for the column behind her and Walter's strong arms around her.

Walter pressed his forehead against hers as they both gasped for breath.

"Now do you understand?"

"Yes," Paige panted hoarsely and then swallowed. "I think I do."

"And… so…. do…. we….."

Walter hurled his body away from Paige's at the sound of Toby's sarcastic drawl behind them. He moved so fast he stumbled into her chair, which slid sideways and as he turned to try to keep from falling his ass slammed into the corner of her desk and he grunted in pain.

"God damn it!"

He grabbed the closest thing he could find, her appointment book and held it in front of his waist in an attempt to hide his body's very obvious reaction to her.

Paige gaped wide eyed at the group standing near the door. Toby was grinning like a fool, Sylvester was wide-eyed, surprised, but not, and Happy was trying to hide her smirk.

But it was the unreadable expression on her ten year old son's face that had Paige swallowing reflexively.

"I told you they were both doing the walk of shame this morning," Toby said as he pointed at Happy then at Sylvester. "I'm always right! You both owe me a hundred bucks."

Ralph's eyes whipped back and forth between his mother and Walter and Paige desperately tried to read them. She glanced quickly over at Walter and saw him looking intently at Ralph, almost as if he was trying to speak telepathically to the young boy.

Paige's eyes returned to her son's and she started to open her mouth, but she stopped when Ralph looked up at Toby beside him.

"I guess this explains all the broken picture frames in the hallway at home."

* * *

Thanks again for reading. And I know I have to post the last two chapters of _Gauguin_ but below is a sneak peek of another story I'm working on that I'll post after I finish _Gauguin_. Enjoy!

 ** _Undercover_**

I'm sorry you want me to do what?" Paige sputtered as she looked at the behaviorist across the table.

Paige," Toby started to say with his soothing doctor tone.

"I could have sworn you just said you want me to pose as a prostitute," she continued without letting him finish.

"Not a prostitute," he clarified. "An escort. A very high end escort, in fact. Dmitri doesn't frolic with mere prostitutes."

"It's the same thing Toby," she said she crossed her arms and glared at him.

"No it isn't," he insisted. "Prostitutes are women you pick up on a street corner. Escorts are hired and they are paid to seduce a man not just fu-" Happy elbowed him in the side and he coughed. "Well you know what I'm trying to say. Dmitri doesn't hire women who just drop to their knees the second the door shuts. He wants women who are going to seduce him otherwise there is no satisfaction. Plus, Dmitri is rich and pretentious and escorts cost an arm and a leg. Just ask Walter."

"Toby," Walter barked and his eyes whipped over to Paige who raised an eyebrow at him. She was aware of how he'd engaged in physical pursuits before he was with her. He'd been honest about his past when they started dating a year earlier. But they never discussed how much he actually paid for sex and Toby was right, the good ones, they were extremely expensive.

"I know this guy's type. It's an ego thing for him. A man like him would never find satisfaction with a five dollar an hour hooker. He wants a five hundred dollar an hour woman who will blow his mind as well as his…. Oomph," he grunted as Happy's elbow connected with his abdomen this time.

"Doc, stop talking right now before Walt has an aneurysm."

"This is not going to happen," Walter spoke over her through clenched teeth. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't," Toby tried to reason with all of them. Didn't they trust his behavioral assessments anymore? "No one can get into his inner sanctum unless they're his body guards, his wife, his girlfriends or the escorts he hires when his wife and girlfriends are away. The only way we're going to get into that safe is to get in that room, drug him and then break into it."

"Paige is not trained in cracking safes. This is not a logical approach."

"Walt, yes, Happy would be the better choice tech-wise but she's short. No offense," he added with a quick look at his girlfriend. "Dmitri likes tall women with great tits and legs and Paige has both. Not that I've noticed," he added quickly when Paige, Walter and Happy all glared daggers at him.

"Paige is the logical choice. We'll be in her ear the whole time. And we'll put a camera in her necklace so we can see everything in the room. She just has to slip a little roofie into his drink and when he passes out Happy will walk her through getting into the safe. That zip drive with the location of those weapons has to be in there."

"And if she gets made by Dmitri for any reason before that? What then?" Walter asked aggressively.

"Super Gallo and his team of trigger happy agents will be standing by to swarm the place." Toby motioned to Cabe who was standing off to the side watching the conversation silently.

"I won't allow this." Walter's words were firm and final.

"Excuse me?" Paige bristled and Walter immediately realized his mistake. But he was not about to back down on this.

"Paige, be reasonable."

"Walter," Cabe interrupted seriously. "As much as I loathe agreeing with the Doc, he's right about this. Paige is the logical choice to get into Dmitri's office."

"I said no," Walter growled and slapped his hands down on the desk for emphasis. "I will find a way to hack into his security system and sneak into his office myself before I'll allow Paige to go in there and let that creep put his filthy his hands on her."

Paige narrowed her eyes at him before she said very quietly. "Guys, will you leave us alone for a few minutes. Walter and I need to talk."

Walter cringed internally because he knew that tone of her voice and the look on her face. She only used it with him when he was about to get his ass kicked but he was determined to hold his ground this time.

As the rest of the team silently left the room, Paige folded her arms across her chest and Walter braced himself for the fight that was about to come.

* * *

 _ **Thanks again for reading and reviewing.**_


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